Commuters riding the Bangkok Transit System are being urged to consider how their lives depend on nature.

Agencies Roll Out Conservation Campaign Using Bangkok’s Skytrain

BANGKOK (July 6) – Commuters riding the Bangkok Transit System are being urged to consider how their lives depend on nature through a new campaign launched by the FREELAND Foundation with the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), Government of Thailand, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

A rolling billboard – a BTS Skytrain – is urging the system’s 700,000 daily riders to take their “Piece of Responsibility” to prevent wildlife trafficking and illegal logging.  The train’s exterior features a jigsaw puzzle depicting a jungle with a man and a woman as one of its pieces.  Interior posters describe how animals help maintain the world’s ecological balance and how illegal wildlife trade and illicit logging are upsetting this balance.

“Raising the public’s awareness about our impact on the environment is vital, particularly in Bangkok which has been used as a major trans-shipment point for illegal wildlife trade for many years,” said Olivier Carduner, USAID/Asia’s regional mission director.  “Purchasing products made from endangered species, such as carved ivory and tiger skin, pushes them closer to extinction and is punishable by law.  Buying products made from illegally harvested timber destroys habitats and contributes to global warming.”

The new train made its debut today at the BTS depot near Chatuchak market, a hotspot for illegal wildlife trade.

“Consumer demand in Asia and elsewhere is driving illegal logging, poaching and trafficking of endangered species,” said Steve Galster, FREELAND’s executive director.  “Too few people understand how this trade is destroying natural ecosystems and pushing species towards extinction.”

The “Piece of Responsibility” campaign is supported by USAID, ASEAN-WEN, Royal Thai Customs, Royal Thai Police, and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.  The campaign was created by JWT Thailand.

FREELAND, which is supported by USAID, provides training, public awareness and other capacity building support to Southeast Asian authorities tasked with stopping illegal wildlife trade.

FURTHER READING

• ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network Support Program (ASEAN-WEN)-2010 (155KB)

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